This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-69434, filed Nov. 8, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated air conditioner, and more particularly, to an integrated air conditioner with a fan casing having a blower fan intended to suck room air from a room to thereby cause the room air to be subjected to heat exchange and discharge the heat-exchanged room air back to the room.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, air conditioners are divided into two main kinds: integrated-type air conditioners in which evaporators and condensers constituting refrigerating cycles are housed in one cabinet, and split-type air conditioners in which evaporators and condensers are housed in separate cabinets. In the integrated-type air conditioner, the cabinet is projected from a window toward a room at an evaporator section of the cabinet, and projected to an outside at a remaining condenser section of the cabinet. Accordingly, the integrated-type of air conditioner is also referred to as a window-type air conditioner.
The conventional integrated air conditioner includes a cabinet in which a blower fan and a propeller fan are mounted to be rotated concurrently by one motor. The evaporator is disposed in front of the blower fan, and the condenser is disposed at the rear of the propeller fan. A front face of the cabinet is provided with a front grille having a room air inlet to suck room air, and a room air outlet to discharge heat-exchanged room air. At a rear section, the cabinet is provided with an external air inlet and an external air outlet. The blower fan, which is disposed in a fan casing positioned behind the evaporator, is adapted to suck room air heat exchanged at the evaporator and then discharge the room air back to a room.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show a fan casing of a conventional integrated air conditioner. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional fan casing includes a fan-housing unit 2 and a front panel 3 attached to a front face of the fan-housing unit 2. The front panel 3 has an air intake opening 3a. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front panel 3 is made of a metal plate and is provided with the air intake opening 3a having a circular shape. A side of the front panel 3 has a turning plate 3b, which defines an outlet duct 5 and serves to direct heat exchanged room air to a room air outlet of a front grille (not shown). The turning plate 3b is bent toward the room air outlet of the front grille at a right angle at the side of the front panel 3 of the fan casing 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the fan-housing unit 2 of the fan casing 1 is usually made of a heat insulating material (e.g., expanded polystyrene). A side of the fan-housing unit 2 has a volute space 2a in which a blower fan 4 is installed with a circumferential spacing therearound. An inner surface of the volute space 2a is configured to have an Archimedes"" spiral curved surface, which is also called an involute curved surface. The fan-housing unit 2 also has a side with an outlet space 2b which is combined with an upper portion of the volute space 2a. The outlet space 2b and the turning plate 3b define the outlet duct 5. An uppermost portion (a portion directly above a rotating axis of the blower fan 4) of the volute space 2a combined with the outlet space 2b has a horizontally extended section 2c. The horizontal extended section is intended to prevent a vertical height xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d of the fan-housing unit 2 from being increased. Generally, where the Archimedes"" spiral surface is extended to the uppermost point of the volute space 2a, the vertical height xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d of the fan-housing unit 2 must be increased to strengthen an upper portion of the fan-housing unit 2, thereby causing an overall size of the integrated-type air conditioner to be increased.
When the blower fan 4 is rotated, room air which has been heat exchanged at an evaporator (not shown), is sucked into the volute space 2a through the intake opening 3a, and then flows into the outlet duct 5 while being in contact with an inner surface of the volute space 2a. Subsequently, the heat exchanged room air is discharged into a room through a room air outlet of the front grille to condition air in the room.
However, since the turning plate 3b of the front panel 3 that partly defines the outlet duct 5 of a conventional integrated air conditioner is abruptly bent, room air discharged therethrough is subjected to considerable flow resistance. Furthermore, since the uppermost portion of the volute space 2a has the horizontally extended portion 2c to decrease the vertical height xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d of the fan-housing unit 2, airflow at the horizontal extended portion 2c is not to be smooth.
As a result, the conventional integrated air conditioner has disadvantages in that considerably high noise is generated due to airflow resistance at the uppermost portion of the fan-housing unit 2, thus resulting in a decrease in flow rate during an operation of the air conditioner.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated air conditioner with a fan casing intended to reduce resistance to air flow and to increase flow rate by improving the fan casing. The fan casing is provided with a volute space to receive a blower fan, and includes an outlet duct.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing an integrated air conditioner with a fan casing. The fan casing has a fan-housing unit having a volute space in which a blower fan is rotatably mounted and an outlet space combined with the volute space. The volute space of the fan-housing unit is provided at an inner top surface of the volute space with a concave recess leading to an upper surface of the outlet space such that an entire inner surface of the volute space takes a shape of Archimedes"" spiral. The fan casing also has a front panel attached to a front face of the fan-housing unit, which is provided with an air intake opening and a turning plate bent forward. The turning plate defines an outlet duct by combining with the outlet space to direct room air in the volute space to a front air outlet through the outlet space.
According to an aspect of the invention, the fan-housing unit is formed at a top wall of the fan-housing unit with an upper opening of a predetermined area, and is provided with a guide plate covering an upper surface of the fan-housing including the upper opening. The guide plate has a concave recess at a lower surface of the guide plate corresponding to the upper opening.
According to an aspect of the invention, the guide plate includes a first protrusion to be engaged with a side edge of the upper opening and a second protrusion to be engaged with the other side edge of the upper opening such that the concave recess is defined between the first and second protrusion.
According to another aspect of the invention, the fan-housing unit is provided at an upper surface of the fan-housing unit with a stepped portion so that the guide plate is stably seated on the fan-housing unit.
According to another aspect of the invention, the fan-housing unit is shaped by heat insulating material, and the guide plate is injection molded by plastic material.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the turning plate of the front panel is formed at a bent portion of the turning plate with an inclined face such that room air in the volute space is smoothly directed forward.